A/N: It's been such a disgracefully long time since I last updated any of my stories that I think I owe you all an explanation. The facts are pretty simple. Back in February I was diagnosed with a life threatening illness. The diagnosis led to a round of various tests and waits for the results of those tests to come back. During this time I felt disinclined to anything, except make certain provisions in the case that the threat became reality. The upshot was that in June I was operated on to remove a growth from one of my lungs, but the surgeon also had to take the lobe that was hosting the growth. As you might imagine it wasn't a particularly pleasant experience and it was quite debilitating I was in hospital for the surgery and recovery period for about 4 weeks and it took me nearly month after my release with the reduced lung capacity to walk (very slowly) more than a hundred yards without becoming seriously short of breath. Unfortunately although the surgery was a success a sample of nodes sent for histology revealed that there might be other rogue cells still in my body, as a result I am now slated for about three months of chemotherapy. I'm not looking forward to that and I hope it won't affect me and my writing too much. Now, on with the story…
A Friendly Demonstration
Chapter 60
Victor looked up from the newspaper covered table where he was sitting shining his shoes and where Jen's uniform shoes sat awaiting his attention, "So… we get Mattie for tomorrow?" he asked as Jen put her phone down on her new acquired end-table that stood beside the couch.
Jen smiled and nodded, "Yep…" and then cocked her head slightly to one side, "Why? You're not bothered are you? Because she is my friend, and love me, love Mattie!" she added challengingly.
"Bothered?" Victor echoed, raising an eyebrow in surprise, "No… no bothered at all, and as for loving Mattie because she's your friend – and I reckon that she's more than a friend, almost like a sister to you!" he added shrewdly before continuing, "But anyway, that's not an issue. I already like her for herself… she just needs to get with the programme, so that when she leaves the academy she's wearing green and not blue!"
Jen's laughter pealed out, bringing a fleeting, softer expression to Victor's face. "Yeah, like that's ever going to happen!" she scoffed. "You know Mattie all she wants to do is be a Naval Aviator… just like Har… uh, I mean the Captain used to be!"
Victor had insisted that Jen break her old habit of referring to Captain Rabb by his first name and noted her near slip but also caught the way she'd corrected herself without prompting, so apart from a slight raising of an eyebrow and a quick glance at her said and did nothing. Not that he'd needed to. Jen knew she had to change her accustomed familiar ways with her CO; that step from Commander to Captain was only a single step. But in terms of prestige and respect owed it was, she knew, a real doozy.
"So… Now that you're planning a full-scale lunch tomorrow…" Victor began, only to be interrupted by Jen.
"Yeah, I know… I'll have to hit the store!" Jen grinned, and grabbing her coat from the peg fixed to the door she continued, "And there's no time like the present!"
"Do you want me to come with you?" Victor asked.
Jen took a glance at her watch, "No… I know it's dark out, but it's still too early for the need of a bodyguard! No, you stay here and carry on with what you're doing, First Sergeant!"
Victor's face split into one of his rare grins, "Aye, ay, ma'am!"
Jen stopped halfway through the door, pausing as she lifted her hair clear of her coat collar, "Clown," she scolded him lovingly.
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"This is nice…" Gill sighed as she wormed her way even closer, if that were possible, to Harm. Her head already resting in the hollow of his shoulder as she lay on her side, her left leg thrown over both of Harm's while her left hand idly toyed with his chest hairs.
"M'mm…" Harm agreed sleepily, summoning up sufficient energy to bend his neck so that he could plant a kiss on Gill's forehead.
"But we are going to have to get up…" Gill added mournfully.
"Yeah… otherwise we'll have a hungry teenager hammering on the door, demanding her dinner," Harm replied.
"On her crutches?" Gill asked disbelievingly, "After just her first couple of days on them?"
"Point," Harm conceded, but then added darkly, "But don't underestimate Mattie's strength of will…"
"Or her appetite?" Gill chuckled.
"Yeah, that too," Harm agreed with a grin and then drew a deep breath. "Come on then, let me up so I can get to the shower and then downstairs to make a start on dinner!"
Reluctantly, Gill untangled herself from Harm, who, equally reluctantly, forced himself out of bed and throwing his bathrobe around his shoulders swiftly crossed to the bathroom. Gill, although tempted to join him the shower gave up the idea, knowing that if she did they would probably have to send out for a home delivery from one of the many fast food establishments in town, and although Mattie might well approve, Harm most certainly would not, and neither, come to think of it, would Gill herself. She grinned at the thought, storing it away to tease Harm with at a later date.
Harm showered quickly and returning to the bedroom he even more quickly dressed in Chinos and a t-shirt, saying to Gill, "The bathroom's all yours. But dinner will be ready in about forty minutes, so don't take too long!"
Gill glowered at the imputation that she took too long to get ready, but contented herself with poking her tongue out at Harm once his head was safely entangled in his t-shirt and saying demurely, "No, dear."
Harm's head emerged through the neck hole of the t-shirt and he gave Gill a suspicious look which she returned with one of absolute innocence, as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Not being able to substantiate his suspicion that Gill was being deliberately patronising, Harm contented himself with a snort of disbelief, and jammed his feet into his moccasins before heading for the door.
Gill watched him go, and with a fond smile and a shake of her head, she hauled herself out of bed, and wrapping her kimono about her strolled across the bedroom to take her turn in the bathroom.
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By the time Gill joined Harm in the kitchen, a large, covered pot was bubbling quietly on the burner and a slightly spicy aroma permeated the kitchen. "M'mm…" Gill breathed appreciatively, "Smells good! What you got a-cooking?"
"Oh… Jamaican style rice and peas and three tofu cutlets in Jamaican jerk marinade, and there's salad and lemon flatbread to go with it."
"Lemon flatbread?" Gill asked, intrigued.
"Yeah… it's a bit like a soft tortilla, or maybe an Indian chapatti, just with a splash of lemon juice added for extra flavour…"
"And you've done all that while I was in the shower? I'm impressed!" Gill grinned.
"Well, I haven't done the salad yet, so I thought that if you didn't mind…?"
"No worries!" Gill agreed as she headed towards the fridge to gather together the necessary greens, boiled eggs and tomatoes.
For a few minutes they worked companionable together until Harm broke the silence, "Uh… Has Mattie said anything to you, about next week?" he asked diffidently.
"No…" Gill's forehead creased in a frown, "Why, should she have done?"
"Well…" Harm looked, to Gill's surprise, slightly shifty… No, that was the wrong word. He looked, if anything, a little embarrassed.
"C'mon, spit it out Sailor!" Gill encouraged.
"Uh… it's just that next week it's her birthday…"
"And?" Gill asked, her forehead showing her perplexity.
"Well… it's just that last year, she made a pretty grand production out of it, but this year she hasn't said a thing. Well… not to me!"
Gill shook her head, "No, not to me either!" she confirmed. "But what's the problem?"
"Well… it's not like her to be backward in coming forward… and without any hints from her; I have absolutely no idea what to buy her!"
Gill looked thoughtful for a few seconds and then sked, "It's not her eighteenth, is it?"
Harm shook his head, "Nope, that's not until next year. Why?"
"Well, eighteen is when she legally becomes an adult in the UK… she legally can drink alcohol, smoke and in law doesn't have to answer to her parents any more. Most people make a big deal out of an eighteenth. But as that isn't until next year, you have a little time to plan for it!" Gill finished with a grin.
"I'm not too worried about Mattie drinking. Her birth father was, as I've told you, an alcoholic and she has sworn she's not going to turn out like him…" Harm's forehead creased in a slight frown and he sent Gill a sideways look before added, "That's why I always felt that Mac was a good influence. She was an alcoholic but went on the wagon years ago, and apart from one slip, she stayed sober. Let's face it, a teenage girl couldn't do much better than to have a Marine Colonel as an example of a reformed alcoholic…"
Gill merely said "H'mm…" as she turned her attention to shredding more salad leaves but thought, 'completely avoiding the source of an addiction, isn't beating it… it's just hiding from it!'
Harm sent Gill another sideways look as the thought crossed his mind that, despite their deepening love and the joy they took in their relationship, that perhaps Gill still felt a little insecure when Mac's name came up in conversation. He opened his mouth to ask if that was the case, but then a bolt of good sense struck him and all he asked was "Something wrong?"
Gill blushed slightly an ok refuge in obfuscation, "No… not exactly… I was just trying to figure out if Mac's absence had anything to do with Mattie not talking about her birthday…"
Again, Harm shook his head, "I wouldn't have thought so… Mac wasn't around when Mattie and her fifteenth birthday, and she had gone back to her birthfather for her sixteenth…"
"So… any ideas, then?" Gill queried as she added the sliced eggs to the salad.
"Nope, nary a one." Harm heaved a sigh, "I guess I'll just have to brace her…"
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Mattie found that 'The Normans and the Plantagenet's' had been written for a slightly younger readership than her, but nevertheless found it a useful introduction to early Anglo-Norman history, except she thought darkly, there were a confusing profusion of Kings called William, Henry and Edward; far too many of them! But even more useful, especially the chapter on the barons' revolt against King John and the whole Magna Carta issue – or so she hoped – was the rather daunting bibliography at the end of the book, which again, she hoped would furnish her with further reading, although the books listed were bound to be as old, and older, than the volume she was currently reading. On that thought, she slipped a bookmark between the pages and rolled over onto her back, her fingers linked behind her head, a slow smile spreading over her face as she anticipated tomorrow, spending time with Jen, who was more than a friend, a surrogate sister was, she decided about the most accurate description of the relationship between them
Her reverie was soon broken, however, by the sounds of activity emanating from the kitchen and after a moment or two of thought, she nodded decisively and pushed herself onto her elbows and then into a sitting position on the side of the bed, where after scuffing her feet into her slippers, she reached for her crutches and with a grunt of effort, and a wince at the soreness of her hands, she lurched upright and headed for the door and stumped through the living room towards the kitchen.
"Hi guys! Anything I can do to help?" she offered, seeing Harm fully occupied at the cooker while Gill was sat at the table, shredding leaves and slicing eggs.
Harm looked around, "Hi Squirt! Have a good rest?
"Sure did!" Mattie agreed with a grin as she lowered herself onto one of the kitchen chairs. Only she knew it was a grin of relief as she loosened her grip on her crutch handles and not just one of pleasure.
Gill smiled down the length of the table at her, "Help? Do you think that maybe you could set the table?" she asked.
"Sure thing!" Mattie agreed and swivelling in her seat and once she had managed to open the cutlery drawer grabbed a handful of knives and forks and began setting them in place.
By the time Gill has tossed the salad and Mattie had finished setting the table Harm was ready to serve the meal and although Mattie had asked suspiciously "Just what is this?" and had grimaced when Harm explained the dish, after she had somewhat hesitatingly tried the cutlet she grudgingly admitted, "Hey it's not too bad!"
"And the rice? Harm asked.
"It's a little overspiced," Gill commented, half apologetically. "I mean, I know there's coconut milk and other flavourings in there, but all I can really taste is the thyme…"
"Well… strictly speaking, thyme is an herb not as spice, but yeah, you're right there is too much thyme…this is the first time I've tried that particular recipe; I followed it exactly but next time I do it, I'll half the amount of thyme and we'll see how that suits us."
Mattie looked across at Gill, quirking an eyebrow as she did so. Gill met her glance and nodded before turning to Harm, "Sounds like a good idea!" she agreed, "But… this lemon bread is fantastic, isn't it Mattie?"
The teenager swallowed her mouthful of the said bread and nodded emphatically, "Yep. I just thought it was a soft tortilla, but the lemon flavour was a real eye opener. So… if you've never done this before, where did you get the idea?" she finished by asking Harm.
"Well… there are some things we used to get back home that just aren't available here in England, so I was browsing the net looking for something different than my old stand-bys and came across different recipes and…"
"And found this one?" Gill interrupted.
"Just so," Harm agreed gravely, "Although I did make a change…. I substituted tofu for the chicken in the original!" he ended with a grin at Mattie.
The teenager grinned, "That's okay… I'm getting real chicken tomorrow!"
"Oh, how's that?" Harm asked his expression registering slight mystification.
"'Seasy," Mattie mumbled around a mouthful of rice, "Jen and Victor are picking me up in the morning, and are going to take me off your hands for the day… you know… give you two some 'you' time over the weekend, and Jen's promised me chicken for lunch!"
"Did you know about this, Gill?" Harm asked.
Gill shook her head, "No, it's news to me!"
"So how come we're only finding this out now?" Harm demanded.
"Uh… well… That's because it was only just decided this afternoon," Mattie explained
"It's a bit short notice," Harm objected, "What if Gill and I had made plans for us all to go and visit her parents tomorrow?"
"Well, you haven't, have you? Because if you had, I'd have known wouldn't I? And anyway, Jen and myself need to sort out what we're going to do for our birthdays. Don't forget, Jen's is tomorrow and mine's on Tuesday and we usually have a joint celebration – or we did when we were in DC!"
Harm looked thunderstruck, "Lord! No, I hadn't forgotten your birthday squirt, but I had forgotten that Jen's birthday was tomorrow!"
Gill chuckled although when she spoke her voice was sympathetic, "Well, it's not too late sailor… You've still got time to get to the shops and buy her something, if you hurry!"
"And I'd better do that just that!" Harm agreed as he scraped the last few grains of rice off his plate. "Uh… if I leave you two to it, to clear down the kitchen, is that all right?"
Gill's "Of course it is!" was nearly drowned out by Mattie's reply.
"Just don't make a habit of it!"
"And what about you squirt? Have you got something for Jen?"
"Sure do! Card and present, brought over from the good ol' US of A with me!"
"H'mm… Always prepared, huh? Are you sure you want Navy and not the Coast Guard?" Harm asked as he shoved his chair back from the table.
"The…the Coast Guard?" Mattie almost yelled, "Am I ever going to get you for that!"
"You'll have to catch me first, squirt!" Harm laughed over his shoulder as he made for the front door, which the two women in his life heard bang about ten seconds later.
Gill chuckled and shared Mattie's grin, asking, "What was all that bit about the Coast Guard?"
Mattie's grin switched to being a brief scowl before it reasserted itself, "Oh, that was the 'always prepared' thing. See, the Coast Guard's motto is Semper Paratus, which means…"
"Of course, always prepared!" Gill chuckled.
"Yeah, and he deliberately set me up for that!" Mattie complained, but none too seriously.
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Johnny was still in the kitchen by the time that Julia and Zoe returned, slightly damp, from their shopping expedition, and by the time they did the kitchen was redolent with the smell of cooking.
"M'mm…. smells good!" was Zoe's opening remark as she stuck her head into the kitchen, effectively blocking the doorway while Julia made a bolt for Zoe's bedroom. "What's cooking?" Zoe added, still in the doorway, and blocking Johnny's view of the hallway until Julia was safely out of his liner of sight.
"Cottage pie," Judith Walker replied crisply, "with carrots and peas –good enough?" she ended challengingly.
"M'mm sounds perfect!" Zoe pronounced as smile lit up her face, and then with a quick glance over her shoulder, she stepped in to the kitchen just as her place in the doorway was taken up by Julia.
Johnny stopped setting the table, placing the handful of cutlery he was holding randomly on the cloth covering the kitchen table and smiled across at his fiancée, "Hey, squid," he almost breathed as he closed the distance between them.
Julia just had time to answer, "Hey squaddie…" before she was scooped up into Johnny's arms her lips were sealed by his.
Zoe looked on indulgently, as did Judith, who, however cleared her throat and said, "I do hope you two are going to stop that before dinner goes cold?"
Johnny and Julia sprang apart as if propelled by springs, Julia's face flushing crimson, while Johnny's plaintive protest of "Ma…!" merely brought smiles to his mother and sister's faces.
"Oh you didn't have to stop immediately – dinner won't be ready for ten minutes, or so!"
"Which gives you just about enough time to wash up!" Zoe grinned.
"Oooh!" Johnny exclaimed and nearly stamped his foot in frustration which only caused Judith and Zoe to burst into laughter, and even Julia, recovering from her own embarrassment, managed a huge grin.
Ten minutes later all were sat at the table each with a plate of piping hot cottage pie in front of them and for a few minutes, until the edge had been taken off their hunger there was very little conversation, but once appetites had been blunted, Johnny smiled across at Julia, Well… was your shopping exped successful?"
However, it was Zoe who, hastily swallowing a mouthful of potato and minced beef, answered, "Beyond your wildest dreams Timothy! Julia's going to knock your socks off."
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
"So, Squirt… You all set?" Harm asked over the rim of his breakfast coffee mug.
"Sure am! Card and present all tucked into my old book bag! Crutches are here, and my chair is by the door!"
"Chair?" Gill interjected with a look of surprise on her face.
Mattie grimace, "Yeah… I don't much want it, but if I get tired, then I won't want to keep on crutches, so the chair comes too… unfortunately!" she added on a glum note.
Harm nodded approvingly, "Good idea Mats!"
With a sudden reversal of mood, so typical of the teenager, Mattie flashed him a brilliant grin, "Yeah, I know, I thought of it!"
"And she's always so modest!" Harm whispered in a stage whisper to Gill, whose smile suddenly lit up her face.
Mattie looked upon them both with mock condescension, "Well it's not my fault if I'm brilliant where others aren't!"
Gill and Harm exchanged glances and then both, to Mattie's consternation broke into howls of laughter. Laughter in which after a couple of seconds, the teenager joined.
The laughter was so great that the trio nearly missed the sound of the doorbell, and it wasn't until the fourth or fifth ring that Harm held up his hand, "Listen!"
Silence fell and now the bell could be plainly heard, Harm shook his head and muttered, "Who the hell, at this time on a Sunday… Okay, okay, I'm a-coming," he yelled, as if anyone at the door could hear him.
Almost throwing pen the door his irritation dissipated on the instant as he saw a well wrapped up Jennifer Coates and Victor Galindez standing at the top of the ramp. "Legalman One, First Sergeant… good morning!"
"Good morning sir!" was almost, if not quite, a chorus from the two visitors.
Harm stood back from the door, "Come on in, both of you. I'm not happy about swapping warm air for cold!"
"Uh… we're not staying, Sir," Jen offered. "We've just come to pick up Mattie… I promised her that we would spend the day together!"
"Well, Mattie's not finished her breakfast yet…" at Jen's look of surprise, Harm grinned self-consciously, "Yeah, I know… we're running behind schedule this morning, so come in!"
Jen cast a quick, helpless glance at Victor before stepping over the threshold, leaving the Marine with no alternative other than to follow her.
"You remember where the kitchen is? Harm asked Jen, "You do? Good, go straight on through."
Mattie's face lit up with one of her sunniest smiles "Jen! Victor!"
"Yes, good morning Jennifer… and Victor?" Gill ended her greeting on a note of inquiry.
"Yes, ma'am, Victor. You'll remember him… you met at the hospital… First Sergeant Galindez, Marine Corps, from the Embassy Security detail," Jen supplied, as Victor drew himself up into a brace.
"Good morning, ma'am!" he responded to Gill's greeting.
"Of course I remember the First Sergeant! But, I don't think I caught his first name at Stoke Mandeville," Gill replied with a smile at the Staff NCO.
"Hey… what's all this military BS?"" Mattie demanded.
"Just…! Jen began but was interrupted by Harm.
"Sit down you two, while I fix you both a mug of coffee!"
"But we only came to…"
"And I only just said to sit down," Harm smiled over Jen's protest.
"Yeah sit, down Jen… and you too Victor… You're making the place look untidy!" Mattie endorsed Harm's words while Gill hid her smile behind her mug.
Jen threw another helpless glance at Victor and unzipping her plaid lumberjack jacket, dropped into one of the two remaining vacant chairs, while Victor moved to lean against the wall behind her.
"Sit down, Victor, please!" Gill reinforced Harm's instructions.
"There's only the one chair left, ma'am," Victor objected, "and I figured I'd leave that for the Captain."
"No, you take it, First Sergeant!" Harm interjected, "I can stand here quite happily… and I'm not making guests standing around while I sit!"
"Are you making that an order, sir?" Victor asked, and only someone who knew him well could have detected that even while he spoke, his tongue was firmly in his cheek.
Harm, however, was one of those few and his eyes tinkled with amusement, "Do I need to make it one, First Sergeant?"
"Uh… No sir!" Victor replied crisply, leaving Gill and Jen with laughter lurking in their eyes while a scowling Mattie failed to perceive the teasing and was on the verge of erupting into protest against the formality, until Harm delivered his final salvo.
"Or… I could just mention that Corpsman who was sweet on you after your New Mexico adventure?"
"Uh… That won't be necessary, sir!" Victor shot back with an alarmed look at Jen, even as he hastily sat in the one remaining chair.
"New Mexico? Corpsman?" Jen asked sweetly.
"Later – I promise!" Victor replied with a hunted expression on his face.
Jen looked plaintively at Harm, "Sir?"
Harm passed out the coffees to his guests, "A few years ago Jen. Victor was on a brig-chaser assignment in New Mexico and ran up against some unfriendly locals and came off second best in a shooting upscuddle."
"You were shot?" Jen asked aghast.
"Weren't much, but I had to spend a few days in hospital," Victor defended himself.
"Ah, so… that's where the Corpsman comes in!" Jen nodded wisely.
"I reckon," Victor admitted uncomfortably.
Jen sat back, and took a sip of her coffee, satisfied for the moment but determined to dig just a little deeper into Victor's history… not that she cared about his previous girlfriends, but she really did want to know more of the taciturn Marine's past.
Mattie, who couldn't care less about Victor's past still took a little pity on him and shot a furious look at Harm, and swallowed the last of her coffee and waited not so patiently for Jen and Victor to do likewise and attempted to divert the conversation from the personal to the general, "So… How's Julia doing with her wedding plans, Jen?"
"Well… They're well underway –I hope – it's less than two weeks until her big day!" Jen grinned.
"Hope? You don't know, Jennifer?" Harm asked in mild surprise.
Jen had the grace to blush slightly, "Well… Julia and her soldier were at our…uh… my place for dinner on Friday, and apart from sorting out what pre-wedding accommodation was needed for Victor and myself, she didn't mention anything, so I guess everything is going well. The only thing is…" here she shot a glance at Victor, "We haven't been able to decide on a wedding present for them…"
"How come?" Harm asked.
"Well… Victor wants to get them something 'useful'; I'd rather get them something maybe less useful but more… well… I don't know really… and that's the problem."
"H'mm… tricky," Harm acknowledged while Gil and Mattie nodded in agreement, then he continued, "But speaking of presents…" Harm turned and opened one of the wall mounted cupboards above the worktop and turning offered an obviously bottle-shaped, gift-wrapped object and a large envelope to Jen, "Happy birthday, Jennifer Coates!"
"Oh!" For a second or two Jen was lost for words and then smilingly added, "Thank you, sir, but I wasn't going to make a production of it this year… Having Mattie for the day was more than enough."
Harm's "Nonsense!" was accompanied by his trademark grin.
Victor blinked twice, and hard on the heels of Harm's exclamation he turned to Jen, "Is today your birthday?" he asked almost incredulously. Jen just nodded mutely in reply.
"You didn't know?" Mattie asked Victor. Her tone also resounding with disbelief.
Victor shook his head in a bemused fashion, "Nope, she hadn't mentioned it at all."
Gill smiled at Jen, "That's the girl! Keep 'em guessing!"
Jen looked around the table, her cheeks reddening and finally let her eyes fall on Mattie, "Are you finished, Mats? If so, we really need to get going… You don't mind us rushing off do you, sir?" she added for Harm's benefit.
"It's okay, isn't it Harm?" Mattie added her voice to Jen's.
Harm's grin didn't falter for an instant, "Okay, then, off you go… What time do you expect to get the squirt home, Jen?"
"Uh… is 2130 too late sir?"
Harm considered for a moment, and then said, rather reluctantly, "Okay, 2130 but not a minute later capisce?"
"Roger that, sir!" Jen responded crisply.
"Got it!" Mattie replied on a slightly downbeat note, she had hoped for a little later, but she had learned long ago that when Harm set a curfew, then it was set in stone.
Victor finished his coffee and chimed in, "Don't worry, sir. I'll make sure she's home on time!"
"Oh, I've got every confidence in Jen!" Harm smiled, "But reinforcements are always handy!"
"Not really reinforcements, sir. More along the lines of belt and braces!" Jen quipped as she stood and pulled up the zip fastener on her jacket.
"G'wan, get!" Harm grinned amid laughter as Jen and Victor both moved towards Mattie.
"No worries, people, I can do it!" the teenager exclaimed as she used the table to balance against while she slowly stood and then grabbed her crutches. "But if you can fit my chair into the trunk, please Victor? I might need it later on!"
"I'll grab your backpack then," Jen offered.
"Thanks!" Mattie puffed as she stumped out of the kitchen leaving Gill to slip her arm around Harm's waist. "She'll be okay," Gill whispered.
"Of course she will!" Harm heartily agreed. "Jen knows just how to keep her under control, and if she can't then if a First Sergeant of the US Marines can't do it, then no-one can!"
"But she did slip one past us, Harm," Gill smiled up at him.
"Oh? How come?" Harm asked, his forehead showing the beginnings of a puzzled crown.
"She's left us with all the washing up and cleaning down – and it was her turn to dry the dishes!" Gill laughingly complained.
"Damn! So she has!" Harm too laughed and then took a breath, "Oh well I suppose we had better get on with it!"
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Victor opened the front passenger door for Mattie and waited for her to lower herself to the seat. He tried not to look as if he was anxious, but his silent sigh of relief as Mattie used her hands to lift her legs into the car was met by a tilt of the teenager's head and a wry grin as she said, "It's okay Victor, I'm in safe and sound, you can stop hovering!"
"I wasn't…" he began, but then stopped as he saw the cynical expression on Mattie's face and he acknowledged defeat, "Okay… maybe I was hovering just a little bit, but have you any idea what the Captain would do to me if I let you get hurt while you were with me?"
"And me!" Jen added as she slid into the back seat, having stowed Mattie's chair and backpack in the car's trunk, or boot, as she was becoming used to thinking of it in British term.
"Keelhaul both of you would he?" an unrepentant Mattie quipped.
Jen shuddered, "I think that keelhauling might be preferable to what the Captain might have in mind if we ever did let you hurt yourself!"
H'mm… that's an idea not totally devoid of attraction…" Mattie teased glancing over her shoulder at Jen.
Jen, however, refused to bite simply replying, "It's a good job that Victor and I know you're just trying to get a rise out of us!"
"Yeah, so behave yourself, short-stuff!" Victor chimed in, his face retaining its usual stern expression, but a hasty glance at him from Mattie revealed to her relief that there was a gleam of amusement in the Marine's eyes.
The twenty or so minutes it took Victor to cover the distance from Northolt to Stanmore passed in light, inconsequential conversation, although Jen, in particular, could tell that Mattie was labouring under a load of anticipatory excitement, and decided that just for once it wouldn't hurt to keep the teenager from whatever she wanted to talk about – for a little while at least.
And Mattie, for her part was impatiently waiting to get to Stanmore, and was eagerly anticipating the look on Jen's face when Mattie handed over her present to the older woman –the present which she had oh, so carefully, wrapped and stowed away in her backpack.
Victor pulled the car off the road onto the hardstanding and turning to Mattie, who was already unbuckling her seat belt cautioned her, "Don't try to get out until I'm there to…"
"Hover?" Mattie asked innocently.
Victor's expression relaxed almost to the point of where it could be described as a grin, "Yeah, to hover! Remember what I said about the Captain's likely reaction if Jen or I allowed you to hurt yourself!"
Jen, having released her own seat belt, leaned forward and ruffled Mattie's hair, "Yeah, you've made so much progress, even since the adoption hearing, that it would be really dumb of you to set yourself back because u were too impatient to wait a couple of minutes. Besides…" Jen' eyes took on a mischievous sparkle as she attempted to mitigate the severity of her previous sentence, "Once you get to the academy you'll learn all about the value of teamwork!"
Mattie gave a resigned little laugh, "Okay, okay, you two I get it! I really do!"
Jen and Victor exchanged a fleeting glance before they proclaimed, in chorus, "Good! Just make sur that you do get it!
Mattie blinked, "Did you guys rehearse that?" she demanded suspiciously.
"No," Victor replied shortly.
"Not this time, Mats, I just sort of came to us both at the same time!"
"But in the same words! Wow!" Mattie exclaimed and then complying with Victor's instructions, she contented herself with re-arranging he crutches, which had slid into an awkward position alongside her seat, waited until Victor had come around to her side of the vehicle an d then opened her door for, standing back to give the teenager enough room for her manoeuvres.
While Jen unloaded Mattie's wheelchair and backpack from the Peugeot's trunk Mattie swung her legs out of the car and once again using the door as a support hauled herself to her feet and grabbing her crutches turned to Victor, "Made it! Shall we walk?"
Victor, his pace reduced to a stroll, walked with Mattie towards the building door. The slowness of their pace allowing Jen to catch up and unlock the door for them and then stand back.
xxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Julia allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction mixed with admiration. Sure, she scrubbed up okay and her tailored tan pants looked good with her charcoal ingle breasted jacket, with her white shirt collar open and turned back over the jacket, but Johnny… well… to her, admittedly not unbiased eyes, he looked good enough to eat. He stood in front of the dresser in their room at the Owl, making sure that his tie was perfectly ties and that the knot was neither to large or too small. The tie was the one thing that Julia wasn't too keen on, admittedly it went with his mid-grey suit, but although the colours, navy blue and scarlet went well, she didn't much care for the design of alternating zig-zag stripes that descended diagonally along its length.
She had said as much to Johnny when she saw it draped around the coat hanger which held his suit, only to be met with a pained expression and the curt explanation, "It's a regimental tie!"
"Okay… but why those zig-zags?" Julia had persisted.
Johnny took a breath and sat down on the side of the bed, "In memory of Saint Barbara – the Gunners' patron saint," he added in a softer voice.
Julia sat next to him so that their hips and shoulders just touched, "But why…?"
"Saint Barbra was an early Christian martyr," Johnny explained, "And immediately after her execution – by her father – he was struck by lightning and killed on his way home. Heck, I think even the US Army and US Marine artillery have her as their patron, too!"
"Oh… Okay," Julia conceded – as a Catholic even a lapsed one, she knew how much the saints were venerated, "When is her day?" she asked.
"Next month, fourth of December," Johnny replied.
"But you're wearing it today?" a still slightly puzzled Julia observed.
Johnny lipped an arm about her shoulder, "Yeah I am, but the thing is, my beautiful fiancée, we don't have to wait for hr day to ear the regimental tie, and today, well it goes with the suit and… hell, I just felt like wearing it."
Julia craned her neck and raised her head far enough so that she could hit Johnny's cheek with a kiss, "Oh, then I'd better start getting used to it, I guess!"
Now however they were both fully dressed and ready, Johnny squinted out of the window and asked, "You got your umbrella, right?"
Julia looked out of the window in her turn and replied, "Yeah, I got it, but it's not raining!"
"Not right now. Johnny agreed, but there's no telling what the weather's going to do, especially with those grey clouds piling up!"
Julia nodded and delved into her val-pack, "Okay I got it!"
"Right then if you're ready, let's get to the church on time!"
"But if it rains, what about you?" Julia objected.
"Well I'll just have to share your umbrella – it'll give me a chance to give you a cuddle while we're walking!"
"PDA? Aren't they illegal in the British Army too?"
Johnny shook his head, "I have no idea, and even if they are, I on' care!" He paused, "Aare you coming or not?"
"On my way, O master!" Julia grinned.
Johnny grinned back as he held the door for Julia, "O master? Oh, if only!"
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Gill, pinch hitting for Mattie, dried the last plate and placed on the plate rack at the end of the work top. "Well now that's out of the way, what do you suggest we do for the rest of the day, which I remind you, we have got all to ourselves!"
"Don't you have more gear to collect from St John's Wood?" Harm asked after a few moments' thought.
"Well… yeah, I do, but that can wait until tomorrow," Gill answered.
"After endex?" Harm queried.
"Well… yes, I can't see me fitting it in any other part of the day!" Gill objected.
"M'mmm… what time do you think, then, that you'd get back here?" Harm asked.
"Oh… about 1830 maybe 1900…"
"Yeah…" Harm rubbed his chin, "Tomorrow is A J's first day back as JAG, no doubt he'll be speaking to all JAG unit COs and I wouldn't want to bet that he'd let the time difference influence his decision to call whoever at whatever time, so I reckon there's a fair chance that I'll be late home too."
"But the nurse finishes duty at 1800, right?" Gill asked
Harm nodded "Right, which means…"
"That Mattie would be on her own until one us gets back from duty! Gill finished for him
Harm nodded, "Right."
Gill sighed, "I suppose we best get the rest of my stuff from the Troop today then…"
Harm checked his watch, "If we do it now, and take the Subaru, how many trips would we need to take?"
"Oh… just the one trip should do it, I think," Gill replied, but with a slightly puzzled expression on her face then continued, "But what's the rush?"
"Well, if we can get your gear stowed away, I feel like taking you out to lunch."
"That's nice, do you have anywhere in mind?"
"Yeah, that riverside pub we went to on our third date…"
"The one with the 'duck or grouse' sign?" Gill smiled.
Harm returned the smile with a full blown grin that nearly dissolved Gill's knees. "That's the one! You up for it?"
"Oh, I'm up for it, but you'll have to get changed… no jeans in the Mess," Gill reminded Harm.
"Consider them changed!" Harm asserted as he levered himself away from the worktop on which he had been leaning.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
"Is it going to be all right out here in the hallway?" Jen queried anxiously, referring to Mattie's wheelchair, which, when brought into the flat, had cramped the relatively small living cum dining room.
"You've got the only apartment on this floor," Mattie replied with a grin, "So unless anyone comes to visit you, there won't be any reason for anybody else to be out there – so there won't be anyone to take the wheelchair!"
"Well if you're sure…" Jen began only to be interrupted by Victor and Jen detected just a hint of impatience in his voice...
"Jen, it's her chair, her decision and if anything does happen so that it goes adrift, then as long she takes responsibility for her actions, then leave it be!"
Jen managed a smile, "Of course you will!" she said to Mattie, "And now we've settled that question, how's about giving me a hand getting lunch together?"
"Sure, no problem, as long as I can help while sitting down!" Mattie agreed cheerfully, but then added, "But before I do, could you pass me my backpack, please?"
"I got it," Victor offered and then swung it towards Mattie, "There you go, Trouble!"
"Trouble? Oh, I'm wounded!" Mattie groaned, theatrically clapping her hand to her chest.
"Wrong hand, wrong side, Mats!" Jen grinned.
Mattie pretended to look down in confusion, "Darn it! Busted!" she exclaimed in mournful tones after a few seconds. Then she unbuckled the straps and delved into the pack's depths to retrieve a large envelope and gift-wrapped package. "Happy birthday, Jen!" Mattie smiled as Jen gazed at her helplessly.
"Th…thank you, Mattie!" she managed at last as she received both items from the teenager. "Do you mind if I open them now?"
"No, no… go ahead!" Mattie replied, still smiling, although in truth she was anticipating the pleasure that she was sure Jen would show when she unwrapped the present.
Jen slit open the envelope first and exclaimed in pleasure, "Oh, Mattie what a wonderful card!" and then opened the card to read the handwritten message inside, and once more exclaimed "Oh, Mattie!" before kneeling down by the teenager to give her a hug.
"Aw, it's not much, but at least it's not Hallmark!" Mattie grinned, half pleased and half embarrassed by what she thought was an unnecessary display of affection, and anyway by opening the card first she felt that Jen had left the best to last.
Jen's reaction when she opened the package was all that Mattie could have hoped for. For a few seconds the folds of cream coloured lace material spilled from the packaging. All she could do was stare almost opened mouth at it, and relish the feel of it in her hands. "Mattie it's beautiful… Oh, thank you!" she exclaimed.
"Aw, weren't much, Jen, but I had to watch the weight limit on my cases for the flight over here."
"Not much! Mattie, this feels like pure silk!"
"Is it? Matte asked innocently. "I picked it up at a flea Market in Georgetown one afternoon when I went shopping with Harriet. I just liked the colour and the lace…"
"Mattie Rabb! You know perfectly well it's silk… and I think it's Brussel's lace!" Jen exclaimed as she arranged the wrap so that it draped over both elbows, passing it behind her back to do so.
"Well, yeah, I guess it is silk and the guy I bought it from did mention Brussels."
"It must have cost you a fortune! Far too much to spend on me!" Jen objected, but with her eyes shining with a mixture of pure pleasure and unshed tears.
"Nothing's too much to spend on my best friend and my almost sister!" Mattie denied.
Victor had listened to this with a tolerant air so far, but now stepped in, "I figure I should be the one embarrassed," he complained. "First the Captain, and little miss Trouble here have come up with a present for you, and I didn't even know that today was your birthday!"
"Well, no. Why should you?" Jen asked. "After all, I never mentioned it, and anyway you are giving me a birthday treat in a few days!"
For a second Victor looked nonplussed and then his expression cleared, "Oh, you mean the birthday dinner? Well, yeah we're going but I can hardly claim it as a birthday present to you, when I didn't know it was your birthday!" he maintained.
"Well, I think it's a superb present," Jen declared, "and Mattie, this wrap will go beautifully with that burgundy coloured evening dress I've got!"
"Birthday dinner?" Mattie queried.
"Yeah, the Corps birthday, on November Tenth!" Victor supplied.
"Oh, yeah, of course! So you guys are having a special dinner somewhere?" Mattie persisted.
"All of us Marines, except for the guys on duty at the Embassy," Victor agreed.
Jen shook her head, "Well that's for then. Now I'm going to put this away safely and then Mattie we can make a start on dinner!"
"Shall I put this in the fridge?" Mattie asked nodding at the still-wrapped bottle, Harm's present, which still sat on the table.
"Well… I'll have to open it first, just to make sure that it needs to go in the fridge," Jen demurred.
Victor's eyes crinkled in one of his half smiles, "Given the weight of it, and the fact that I can feel a wire cage over the cork, I'd say it was pretty safe bet that it's champagne, or sparkling wine."
"Still, let's have the wrapping off, not just to check, but if it does need to be chilled, we don't want the paper getting soggy!" Jen chuckled.
Victor efficiently stripped the wrapping paper from the bottle and scrutinised the label, his eyebrows raising slightly as he read out loud, "Leroux-Mineau Grand Cru, Premiere Vintage," and whistled softly before continuing, "Well I've never heard of the vineyard, but a Premiere Vintage Grand Cru… I'll say one thing for Captain Rabb he's very generous."
"Yes, yes he is," Mattie replied, her eyes suddenly sparkling with unshed tears.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong, Mats?" Jen asked.
Mattie shook her head, "Nothing's wrong Jen, it's just that I know just how generous Harm is! He didn't have to care about me, and then after the accident he didn't have to re-apply to the courts… but he did…" By this time silent tears were streaming down her smiling face.
Jem dropped to her knees beside Mattie's chair, "Dumbass!" she chided the teenager gently, looping on arm around Mattie's shoulder and giving her a gentle squeeze. "He didn't do all that because he's generous! He did it because he loves you!"
"Yeah, I know," a smilingly tearful Mattie replied, "And I love him too… so much…"
"Hey, we know that," Jen said quietly, "And more importantly the Captain knows that too!"
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Harm carried the last of the three suitcases down from Gill's bunk and stowed them securely in the Subaru while Gill, who had parked her box of paperback books on a side table in the hall went in search of the Mess Steward so that she could hand in the key to her room
Harm leaned against the side of the Legacy and waited for Gill, not that he had to wait for very long, maybe five minutes at the passed before she appeared in doorway to the Mess building, her box of books balanced on her hip. Harm straightened up and in five strides had closed the distance between them.
"Okay… I've got it!" he announced as he plucked the box from Gills grasp.
"You don't need to…" Gill began.
"And if I didn't I'd have Grams and your Granny beating me up for years over it!" he grinned
Gill's eyes sparkled with amusement, "You're probably right, but I'd pay good money to see that!"
Harm grinned as he wedged the box between two of the cases, "Not going to happen – at least not for today!" But even as he grinned he couldn't help contrasting Gill's acceptance of his help with what Mac's likely response would have been.
He was still grinning as he closed the tailgate and walked around the vehicle to climb into the driver's seat while Gill had already taken her seat and was in the process of fastening her seat belt.
Harm looked at his watch, "Well we haven't done too badly for time but what say we leave the car loaded and head straight for the King's Arms?"
Gill hesitated in replying, so Harm jumped in again, "After all, we've got all afternoon and evening to get your stuff stowed away!"
"And we will need something to occupy us, all alone in that big house!" Gill grinned but with a wicked look across at Harm.
To his surprise Harm found that his throat had suddenly dried and vivid images, many of them concerning the bedroom and the shower, flashed across his mind. "Yeah…" he paused and cleared his throat before making a second attempt at answering, "Yeah, we will, won't we?" he agreed.
Gill turned her head and the laughter leaping from her eyes was matched by the gurgle of laughter that issued from her mouth, "Harmon Rabb!" she mock scolded him.
Harm grinned, although he felt the tips of his ears glow, "Can't help it, you have that effect on me!"
"Flatterer!" Gill laughed, although inwardly she felt a glow at his words
"So… straight to the pub or home?" Even as he spoke Harm realised that this was the first time he had referred to his quarters at home and for a split second he wondered what had prompted him to say that, but a glance at the smiling woman next to him supplied the answer and he marvelled how quickly she had come to mean almost everything to him and that her presence in the house had, without him really bring aware of the difference had changed the nature of the building from being just a house to being a home.
"By all means, let's head for Sandford," Gill supplied the answer and with a further grin, Harm engaged the Subaru's gears and the car drew smoothly away from the kerb.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxxx
Johnny, Julia and Zoe hunched, faces into the cold wind that drove the rain straight into their faces as Julia and Zoe tried to use their two umbrellas to keep the three of them as dry as possible in the driving rain. But in the ten minutes it took to walk from the church to the Walker's house all three of them were distinctly soggy and were definitely feeling the chill, so they were heartily relived when Zoe inserted her key in the lock and opened the door where their senses were nearly overcome by the warmth and the smell of roasting meat emanating from the kitchen
In the kitchen Judith Walker heard the front door opening and peeped into the hall, where seeing the damp trio scolded them, "All right all three of you upstairs and get u of those wet things!"
"Uh… Ma, I'm okay," Johnny replied, "I've got plenty of stuff in my old room…. But Julia… all her gear is in the car, back at the Owl."
"Oh nonsense! I'm sure Zoe can find her something to wear, while her clothes are drying out, so she doesn't catch her death of cold!"
"Sure, Mum, no problem!" Zoe agreed cheerfully, "Come on Julia, we're not too far off the same size!"
"And while you're getting changed, I'll put the kettle on. Dinner will be ready in about half an hour – so you've time for a cup of tea!"
"What is for dinner, Ma?" Johnny queried.
"Roast pork with apple sauce, Yorkshires, roast potatoes and veg, with gravy made from the meat juices! And if you can get through all that, there's apple crumble and cream for pudding – but only I you get out of those wet things."
"I'm gone!" Johnny grinned and then turned to his fiancée and his sister, "Come on you two get a grip, I don't want to miss out on Ma's apple crumble!"
"That's my brother!" Zoe quipped for Julia's benefit, "Thinks with his stomach!"
"Oh, I know!" Julia giggled "I've seen him eat!"
"Hey, when did it become pick on me day?" Johnny demanded from halfway up the stairs.
"Ever since you decided we'd walk to church instead of taking the car!" Julia shot back at him and lapsed into giggles readily joined by Zoe.
"Women!" Johnny muttered in an assumed tone of disgust, hiding his grin, and just loud enough for the two young women to hear him.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxxx
A laughing Harm and Gill ran across the King's Head's gravelled car park, avoiding or leaping over the puddles that were forming as the heavens opened, until at last breathless from the combined effects of running and laughing at the same time they reached the door. Harm, a couple of paces in the lead opened the door and held for Gill so she could go straight ahead into the warmth of the large bar room.
The place seemed busy but not crowded as Harm stepped in, remembering just in time, to beware the beams in the low overhead, and looking around he spotted an empty table by a window in the end wall and directed Gill's attention to with a nod of his head, "What do you want?" he sked her.
"Oh, just a half pint of shandy, please!" Gill smiled at him as she sat in one of the four chairs at the table.
Harm nodded and crossed to the bar where he not only ordered the drinks, but also snagged a couple of menus from the pile at the end of the bar and returned to Gill, setting the drinks on the table before handing Gill one of the menus that he had tucked under his left arm before he chose a chair.
"Did I get the size of the drink right this time?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.
Gill frowned for a second and then gave a delighted chuckle as she remembered his gaffe the first time they visited this pub. "Oh, yes! You got it right this time!"
Harm chuckled and then the two fell silent while the browsed the menus for a few minutes until Harm laid his aside causing Gill to arch an inquisitive eyebrow, "Chosen already? Don't tell me they've now got buttercup risotto in the kitchen?"
Harm wasn't going to bite this time; he'd seen that glint in Gill's eyes too often to place his neck on the chopping block and wait for the axe to fall. "No, but they do have chickpeas served with a spicy tomato sauce, courgettes and rice, so I'll give that a try. What about you?"
"Would it upset you terribly if I asked for a steak?" Gill said.
"No, it wouldn't upset me at all," Harm replied, "Although I am against eating red meat regularly, but I know that you seem to enjoy my vegetarian cooking and so I reckon an occasional piece of meat won't do too much damage."
Gill smiled, "In that case I'll have the rib steak with a jacket potato – no butter – and a side salad please."
Harm took a mouthful of his shandy and stood to return to the bar to place the order and to replace the menus on their pile.
The order placed he sat down again and looked out of the window at the lowering grey skies and the rain which was now pouring down. "I begin to understand some of the complaints about the weather," he remarked.
Gill nodded, "M'mm… it's coming down in stair rods, isn't it!"
Harm nodded, his gaze transferring to the river which to his eyes seemed to be higher than on his previous visit, and to his surprise remarkably lacking in water fowl. "No birds on the river today," he said to Gill.
Gill took a sip from her drink, "No, they're probably all taking shelter from the rain."
"They're taking shelter?" Harm asked in astonishment, "from the rain?"
Gill nodded, "Yes, they may live on the water but it seems that they prefer it under them and not falling on their back! In fact if you observe any of the diving wildfowl, you'll see that as soon as they surface they gave a little shimmy to shake the water off their backs."
"I thought you didn't know much about ducks and geese," Harm objected.
"Oh, just a little… but it seems more than you?"
Harm nodded, "True, but I hadn't realised there were so many varieties in England, I think I'll have to do some serious study… and I have an idea who I can ask for help and advice!"
"Oh? Who's that?" Gill asked eyeing Harm narrowly.
"Do you remember me telling you about when I was a nugget pilot, we had a senior officer who had 'Animal' as his call sign?"
"Vaguely," Gill admitted as something stirred in the depths of her memory.
Harm nodded, "Well he's a Rear Admiral now, and he's married to one of the JAG Corps judges…"
"Okay… but why him in particular?"
"Because he's a very accomplished semi-professional photographer, who specialises in wildlife, particularly birds, and knowing him as I do, I suspect that what he doesn't know about birds isn't worth knowing!"
"And you can just contact him like that?"
"Maybe… but if I get my Mom to offer him an exhibition at her gallery, that might help!"
Gill's peal of delighted laughter attracted several glances from other customers, "Oh, not just cronyism, but bribery too! And here I was thinking you were such an upright character, but I find out that you're just another sneaky shyster!"
"Hey, it works for me!" Harm grinned, "And if you really want to catalogue my sins, you might want to consider that I'm not above a little gentle blackmail if I think it will get me what I want!"
"Gentle blackmail? Is that possible?" Gill asked with a grin.
"Of course it is, otherwise I wouldn't use it!" Harm confirmed to Gill's further amusement.
"My, someone seems happy today!" The interruption came in the shape of the middle-aged waitress, who with a smile at Gill quickly and efficiently set the table with place mats, cutlery and condiments, saying as she finished, "Your food should be with you in about another five minutes, if you want to refresh your glasses?"
Harm looked at Gill, who with a glance indicated that her glass was still three quarters full. Harm dipped his head in acknowledgement and turned to the waitress, "Not just now, thank you. Maybe once we've eaten.
The waitress smiled pleasantly, "Of course," she murmured and left them in peace to await the arrival of their lunch.,
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxxx
"Oh… wow! That was some dinner!" Mattie beamingly, if in veiled fashion, thanked Jen as she pushed her dessert bowl to one side.
Jen laughed, and even Victor allowed himself a smile as Jen said, "Well, I figure it must have been. I don't think I've ever see so much food eaten in so short a time… but Mattie, you're beginning to pee me off!"
The teenager's face fell, "Oh, why? What have I done?" she asked plaintively.
"I'm pissed with you, because you eat like a horse!"
"Hey, hungry teenager here!" Mattie defended herself.
"Maybe, but, you're not doing much in the way of exercise, and you're still as slim as when I first met you! If I ate like that – the way you do – I'd pretty soon be a BAS!"
"BAS?" Mattie queried, although she already suspected she was being set up.
"Yep, Big Assed Sailor!" Jen quipped
Mattie's groan was cut short by Victor's interjection, "Never gonna happen – and I'm here to make sure of it!"
"Oh, how're you gonna do that?" Mattie demanded before she had really taken into account Jen's suddenly heightened colour and then she caught on, "No! Never mind! I don't think I want to know!" she protested hurriedly.
"I thought you might not," Victor murmured with a sly look at both the women.
Jen was torn between laughter and anger, "I'm going to get you for that, Galindez!" she warned him.
"Anytime, baby!" he grinned. "But seeing as how you're threatening me, I'm going to make the punishment worthwhile!"
"Oh, how?" Jen asked.
Victor grimaced, "I really need to get to the company office today, I've got some stuff that needs sorting out for tomorrow, but I'll be back this evening in plenty of time to take Trouble here back home… Do you mind if I leave the cleaning down to you two?"
"Oh, that's so not fair!" Jen protested.
"Sorry, but I really do need to get to the office before tomorrow… I need to do a little bit of admin from time to time, and there are one or two things that just can't wait."
"Can't your Corporal…. Szaszkiewicz, isn't it? He's your company clerk, why can't he deal with whatever it is," Jen asked plaintively.
"Not this time. It's above his pay grade. Look I won't be too long, I promise I'll be back in time to fix supper and I will do all the KP work afterwards! Besides, it'll give you and Mattie time to catch up on all the girlie gossip that would kill me, and you've got enough chick flicks on your shelf to last you a month."
Mattie's eyes had flicked worriedly from Jen to Victor and back again as each spoke and she breathed a silent sigh of relief as Jen sat back in her chair and said, "Okay, I'm not very happy, but if you need to go, then you need to go. But don't be too long, please?" she finished with an appeal.
"Believe me; I'll be back as soon as I can!" Victor moved towards the door and grabbed his jacket of the peg.
"Hey! Wait up a second!" Jen almost shouted as she lunged to her feet, "You've forgotten something!"
Victor whirled to face Jen, "What have I forgot…. Mmmph!" as Jen, not even giving him time to finish his question interrupted him by the simple expedient of silencing his mouth with hers.
Mattie sat back and watched out of the corner of her eye, and grinned as she saw the expression on Victor's face when eventually the kiss ended. "Oh… You can bet your sweet six I'll be back the second I've finished at the Embassy!" he said raggedly.
"That was the general idea," Jen said sending a wicked smile his way.
Mattie waited until the slightly shaken Marine quit the apartment and then grinned at Jen, "You are still bad!" she complimented the older woman.
Jen grinned back, "Well I have to be, otherwise I'd end up with Victor ruling the roost!"
"Is that something that bothers you?" Mattie asked curiously.
"Yeah it does a little bit… you see, I don't want to be ruled, but I don't want to rule either. I guess what I'm looking for is an equal partnership."
"And you think you've got that with Victor?" Mattie pressed her questions.
Jen smiled, and a faraway look came into her eyes, "Yes, I really think that's exactly what we've got," she replied with a soft smile.
Mattie heaved a wistful sigh, "I hope I get just as lucky as you."
"Oh, you will, sweetheart, you will!" Jen earnestly assured her young friend.
"I dunno," Mattie said, and then in a burst of confidence added, "I've never even kissed a boy!"
"Hey, there's plenty of time ahead of you. You don't need to worry about that right now!" Jen smiled, although her heart went out to the youngster. 'What on earth is she, Harm and even I going to do if she never walks properly again!'
But rather than voicing that thought she pushed herself upright from where she had perched against the table's edge, and in a cheerful voice said, "Well, what's more we can always pass a few minutes of that time in cleaning down!"
Mattie shoved herself to her feet and grabbed her crutches, "Damn Navy," she grumbled, "Always cleaning and polishing!"
"Ah, you learn the importance of cleanliness aboard ship… why do you think sailors today are much healthier than they were a hundred years ago?"
"Uh… Dunno, never thought about that," Mattie confessed.
"Cleanliness, hygiene and a better diet!" Jen grinned, "So come on Mats, I'll let you wash and I'll dry!"